By the Numbers

3200 -- participants in this year's San Francisco Avon Walk
7.2 million -- dollars raised by these participants (yours truly included)
39.3 -- miles walked
15:25 -- hours total on the routes over two days
60 -- pounds our new friend lost in the past year training for this; we met her while stretching and we stuck together throughout the whole route
2 -- times we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge
10 -- times we saw "Elmo Man" -- a man holding a stuffed Elmo doll -- on the course supporting his wife
1,006,000 -- dollars raised by ONE volunteer for this and other previous breast cancer walks
20 -- HOT San Jose police officers in PINK shirts on bicycles riding alongside us; there may have been fewer, there may have been more, but they were all adorable!!
1000 -- tents in Walker's Village Saturday night
14 -- stops in Port-a-Potties along the route
10 -- box trucks transporting our gear to and from the start and the village
8 -- members of Team Penny we saw -- may have been more we didn't see -- Penny is the mom of the sweetest 17-year-old boy you ever met. She lost her battle with breast cancer 2 years ago.
270 -- photographs I took in the past three days -- doesn't count what my buddy has on her camera

It was a blast, folks. And I tell you what, walking 26.2 miles is hella lot harder than running the same distance. You spend more time total on your feet, and it takes a ton more steps to reach the same destination. I spoke with many runners who felt the same way. On a marathon day, at my slowest pace, I would have been done in 5 hours and change. We were just finishing up mile 14 by that time. Granted we took more and longer breaks, and many times had to wait at stoplights and such, but the toll on my body was greater this weekend than on any marathon course I've done. I have so much respect for these walkers, and they come in all sizes, ages and physical abilities.

And the city of San Francisco -- WOW. Great vistas, magnificent scenery, wonderfully supportive crowds. the weather was PERFECT! I did get a little more sun yesterday than Saturday, and my lips are sunburned (!!), but besides that, it couldn't have been better walking weather. We were never nasty sweaty, although those portable showers were a blessing Saturday night. It was just glorious!

Probably the only negative was the hills -- the front of my right leg and my right knee are not real happy with me. That flared up on me after a particularly nasty set of rollers about mile 7-9 yesterday; I iced it and wrapped it during the lunch break, but it was still progressing from twinge to pain by the time we finished up. It feels better today after elevation and more ice, but I will definitely be visiting my therapist Tuesday morning. But since I know the problem is not structural, I didn't have any doubts about finishing. I was a little slower on the downhills than I was Saturday, but it was all good in the end.

It's still wicked early here, and I have a little bit of work to finish up before a deadline before I can fully relax and spend the rest of the day enjoying what time we have left here in San Fran. Peace out folks! Many, many photos to come!!